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President Obama yesterday delivered a much anticipated speech where he laid out the US withdrawal plan from the war in Afghanistan. As expected, the President confirmed that 10,000 troops will be withdrawn by the end of this year, followed by another 20,000 next year. The nearly decade long war in Afghanistan started in October 2001, with 5,000 “boots on the ground” by September of 2002. That number rose steadily to 30,000 within 6 years. Since President Obama’s prioritization of the war in Afghanistan over the war in Iraq, the number of troops has swelled to its current level of about 100,000 soldiers. Obama’s speech laid out a withdrawal plan that included troop reductions, talks with the Taliban, and a continued reliance on Pakistan as a partner in military operations.

GUEST: Anand Gopal, Independent journalist based in Afghanistan and the US and has reported for the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal.

Read more by Anand Gopal at his website, anandgopal.com/